At age 17, my dream was to become a rock star. I wanted to be accepted by my peers, date attractive girls, be somebody in my school. Before long, I was bass guitarist in my first rock band. Something changed in me when I performed on stage for the first time. I felt special and important. I’d never be the same again. I soon became obsessed with pursuing my dream.

Fearing rejection and to be accepted by my band, I made a decision I knew was foolish, wrong and unhealthy for me. I got high on marijuana and alcohol. I was deceived in thinking it was harmless and fun. These substances I thought I could control, would one day take control of my life and nearly destroy me. One night, while drunk and high, I gave up my virginity to a girl I didn’t know or care about.

These were two of the worst decisions of my life I regret making.

I longed for the kind of success I witnessed in the rock stars I worshiped and idolized. I moved from my hometown to Hollywood, California to make it big. I only experienced frustration, discouragement and many disappointments in my quest for success. For relief and to escape my problems, I turned to drugs and alcohol. They only offered me a temporary fix for what I was feeling inside.

A friend invited me to a Christian church. As I listened to the preacher, it was as if he was speaking right to me. He explained how God loved me, how I could find help and hope in a relationship with Jesus Christ, but I’d have to surrender control of my life to Him. I’d had never heard I could have a personal relationship with the God of all creation. I recognized Jesus was just who I needed, sensing in my heart I needed to give my life to Jesus Christ that day. However, there was another voice speaking to my heart saying, “Think of how hard you’ve worked, all you can have as a star, all you’d be giving up.” I made the worst decision of my life. I said ‘no’ to God and ‘yes’ to doing my own thing. I pursued my dream.

I soon signed a major recording contract with a Canadian/American rock band named TORONTO. We became one of Canada’s hottest rock acts, recording 2 albums entitled, “Looking For Trouble” and “Head On”. Our songs made the Top 10 hit play list charts.

TORONTO was nominated to win a Canadian Grammy Music Award. Because of record sales excellence, we received gold and platinum record awards.

We performed in all the major concert halls in Canada and parts of the U.S., before as many as 40,000 fans. All the benefits of success were ours. Limousines, tour buses, autograph sessions, radio interviews, having our faces displayed in magazines and newspapers all became a way of life for us. Finally, I’d become what millions of kids only dream about. I was big shot rock star!

Despite all I’d attained, I was lonely, unhappy and empty inside. Something was still missing in my life. I turned for answers to sex, drugs and alcohol. I now recklessly consumed in excess, amphetamines and barbiturates like valium, Quaaludes, speed and cocaine. Having sex with the girls who followed the band, was another fruitless way of trying to find true love and fill the hole in my heart.

I had carried a Bible in my suitcase since first hearing about Jesus in Hollywood. I’d search it for answers and even pray to God, seeking help for the mess my life was in.

My downward spiral continued. A week of wild partying during a recording session at a studio run by practicing Satanists wiped me out. Eventually, I’d ruined my credibility by being a party animal. I could be emotionally unstable and unpredictable. My personality clashed with some band members. I was confronted by the band and management. The ultimatum was presented. I had to get my act together, agree to do things their way or leave. I decided I didn’t need them or liked being told what to do. I forfeited my recording contract and rights to any future benefits. I figured I was a star, could join another big band and be even more popular and successful than I’d already been. I was wrong. For 5 more years, I wallowed in the sleazy rock and roll nightclub scene, playing in bands with a life going nowhere but downhill.

I began a live-in relationship with a single woman. We shared the party lifestyle. One night after some heavy partying and drug use, we engaged in a nasty argument. We both lost control of our emotions. My anger turned to rage. Many times I’d break things in my rage. Though I’d never hit a woman, I came close this particular night. I was losing my self-control. I’d had it with everything. I jumped into my car and drove out the driveway into 4 lanes of traffic, nearly hitting my girlfriend who jumped in front of the car to stop me. I awoke the next morning in my parents’ home with no recollection of driving there.

The reality of my life being totally messed up finally hit me. I’d gone from rock star to rock bottom. Living my way, being boss of my life, doing my own thing, wasn’t working for me anymore. I was unhappy, miserable and at times… didn’t think life was worth living anymore. I was on a collision course with death.

Have you ever been there?Are you there right now?

There’s hope for you!

A preacher named Billy Graham was preaching about Jesus Christ at a local stadium at this time. Looking to find help, hope and answers for my life’s struggles and difficulties, my girlfriend Jeri and I decided to attend. He read the first commandment. “I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2-3) He explained, anything in your life that took a priority over your relationship with God was an idol. God opened my eyes to see my gods were sex, drugs, alcohol, the pursuit of wealth, rock and roll stardom. My biggest god was… me, myself and I. Life was all about ME. I was selfish, self-centered and full of pride.

I didn’t have a relationship with God.

He showed me from the Bible I had broken God’s laws, therefore I wasn’t right with God or ready for Heaven. If I died without Jesus, I’d miss Heaven and go to a terrible place of suffering called Hell. Despite all that, the God of the universe still wanted to have a personal love relationship with me if I’d let Him. He wants one with you, too! That night, my girlfriend Jeri and I surrendered our hearts and lives to God and became followers of Jesus Christ.

A sense of hope and peace came over me.

Immediately, my 20 year habitual dependency on drugs and alcohol disappeared. God miraculously took it away, filling that hole in my heart with his love and a desire for Him.

I’d broken God’s laws regarding sex by committing adultery, having sex outside of marriage and in live-in relationships. The Bible says, “God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.” (Hebrews 13:4) Those indulging in sexual sin like I once did will not get into heaven. But, when I surrendered control of my life to Christ and believed in Him, God forgave me of ALL my sins. If you’re having sex any other way but God’s way, it’s called SIN. After receiving Christ, I chose to obey God’s laws for sex and abstain from sexual relations until after I was married. Because of my sexually immoral lifestyle, my concept of love was distorted. I didn’t know what real love was or how to show it to someone God’s way. I asked God to help me learn and God has. He’s changed my heart and life. God continues to teach me how to love others the way He intends love to be expressed.

My relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship I have. Jesus is amazing. Jesus is the center of my life and family. He has never deserted me. He’s been my help in times of trouble, my strength in moments of weakness, my hope in hopeless situations and my guiding light showing me the way to live. Jesus Christ has never let me down. I have the certainty of spending eternity in heaven with him after I die. I would never return to my old way of living or live without Christ in my life.

Maybe, you can confess like I did… “Something’s missing in my life. I’m confused and mixed up. I’ve broken God’s laws and failed to obey His 10 commandments. I thought I could get along without God’s help. Living my way, by my rules, being the boss of my life isn’t working. I’m empty inside. My life is messed up. I’m not sure if I’m going to heaven when I die. I wish I could start over.”

Maybe, you wonder about God!

Does God exist?
Who is God?
What is God like?
Does God really care about me? READ ON….

Throughout God’s book, the Bible, God introduces himself to you. You can know who God is, his plan for your life and how much he truly loves you through the pages of the Bible.

God created the first human beings Adam and Eve and placed them on a perfect paradise called earth, where there was no evil, sickness, worry, fear or death. He created them with a built-in desire for a relationship with Him. It was a relationship of perfect love, health, happiness and prosperity. Adam and Eve were intimately connected to God. God wants you to have the same kind of relationship with you! The Bible says, “all things were created by God, for him.” (Col. 1:16 NIV)

“all things” includes you!

How amazing is that? The same God who spoke the vast, magnificent universe into existence, who knows all the stars by name, created you for himself, to have a personal love relationship with him! Adam and Eve, and you, have an enemy. The devil entered this perfect world and deceived Adam and Eve into disobeying God. God created Adam and Eve with a free will to choose right or wrong. One day, they chose to disobey, follow their own wrong desires. They rebelled against how God asked them to live in obedience to him.

The Bible calls that SIN.

What is sin?

Sin is:

Breaking God’s 10 commandments

Running your own life, not letting God run it

Living your way, not God’s way as taught in the Bible

Unbelief, rejecting God, Jesus and God’s love for you

Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world and all mankind was changed forever.

When sin entered the perfect world through Adam, all the good God created became corrupted. Sin entered the human heart of every human being, including you.

How could this be?

The Bible teaches Adam was the father of the whole human race.

“He created all people from one man, Adam.” (Acts 17:26 LB)

Everyone in creation can trace their ancestral bloodline all the way back to Adam, the father of the human race. You’ve inherited your personality, skin color, temperament and your genetic make-up from your parents, grand-parents and great grandparents. It’s the same with sin. You inherited from your father Adam, the tendency to sin, desire to sin and even the pleasure you find in sin. It’s hereditary. It’s really a desire to live your life apart from God. Because Adam sinned, sin is passed on to everyone in creation.

Perfect harmony with God in the perfect world ended for Adam and Eve.

Perfect intimacy with God was broken forever.

Because of one sin of disobedience, the disease called SIN infected everyone in creation.

The Bible says,

“For all have sinned; all fall short of the glory of God’s glorious standard.” (Rom. 3:23 NLT)

“No one does good. Not one in the world is innocent.” (Rom. 3:10 LB)

Sin is at the root of all the world’s evil, heartache, violence, tragedy, sorrow and misunderstanding. SIN destroyed man’s peaceful relationship with God. Everyone is born with a heart dirty with sin. A sin-dirty heart is unacceptable to God.

Man became separated from his creator God because of inherited sin.

The Bible says, “your sins cut you off from God.” (Isaiah 59:2 NLT)

The Bible says,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.” (Romans 6:23 NLT)

God’s punishment for sin is DEATH. It’s eternal death separated from God in a terrible place called hell. In hell, one will experience extreme loneliness, no hope, no love, no joy, no relationships, the endless fire of pain, agony and torment. They will be separated from God forever and ever. It is a very real nightmare beyond human comprehension.

The Bible says,

“They will throw them in the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:42 NLT)

“where the worm never dies and the fire never goes out.” (Mark 9:48 NLT)

Nobody wants to think about punishment and torment.

The truth is, Hell is a very
real and terrible place.

Who goes there?

Anyone who has a heart made dirty by their sin. Everyone has a sin-dirty heart, making them unacceptable to a holy God!

Because God hates sin, it must be punished. No one with a sin dirty heart escapes punishment… NO ONE!

Judgment Day is coming for us all.

The Bible says,

“All of us must appear before Christ’s judgment seat. then all people will receive what they deserve for the good or evil they have done while in their bodies.” (2 Cor. 5:10)

JESUS will be the judge.

There will be:
No jury
No defense attorney
No hope of any appeal
No one will be able to defend themselves
No second chances
For those who die with an unacceptable sin-dirty heart, without Christ, having rejected God and his love, they will hear the words:

“GUILTY! I sentence you to spend eternity in hell”

But to those who choose to believe in Jesus Christ and accept his death on the cross as payment for their sins, they will hear the wonderful words:

“INNOCENT! Enter into heaven with me forever!”

One day you are going to die. When you stand before a holy God on judgment day, will you be ready for heaven? God will accept you the way you are but…

He will not accept your sin.
You must deal with your sin.

When God looks at your heart will it be dirty with sin and unacceptable or washed clean and acceptable to him? When you take your last breath, where will you spend eternity? Will it be in heaven?

Are you sure?

Many people wonder….

Why would
a loving God
send his
creation to hell?

God doesn’t send anyone to hell.

No one, including you, has to go to hell. God gives you an opportunity to choose your eternity now, while you are alive. Because GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH and hates the thought of losing you, He’s provided a way for you to deal with your sin and escape eternal punishment in hell forever.

That escape is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus, the perfect, sinless Son of God, willingly came from heaven to earth to rescue sinful people like you and me.

The Bible says,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus showed the greatest act of love anyone ever showed, by dying a brutal death on a cross to take the punishment you deserved so you wouldn’t have to.

The Bible says,

“Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time.”
(1 Peter 3:18)
“He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:19)
“He personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross.”
(2 Peter 2:24)

That’s Good News for YOU!

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD ON THE CROSS… TO PROVIDE A WAY FOR YOU TO HAVE YOUR SIN-DIRTY HEART WASHED CLEAN AND MADE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD!

You may say, “I believe all roads lead to heaven. There are many ways to get there.” Throughout history, mankind has convinced himself he has the way to bridge the gap between himself and God, earning his right to go to heaven. They say…

“I’m a morally good person.”

“I attend church.”

“I do religious things.”

“I was baptized and confirmed.”

“I do good things for others.”

“I give my money to the needy.”

“I don’t hurt other people.”

“When I stand before God I believe he will see I did more good things than bad.”

My friend.. if you believe there is any way to get into heaven other than God’s way, it may seem right to you,
but you’ve been deceived.

The Bible says,

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Prov. 14:12 NIV)

You may believe all roads lead to heaven, but God says there is only one way into heaven…through Jesus Christ.

The Bible says,

“Salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name in all of heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)

“There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.” (1 Tim. 2:5 NIV)

Jesus said…

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)

What a sad mistake to discover you thought you had the right way to heaven, then after you die and are standing before God, realize you were wrong. It will be too late to change your mind. Wouldn’t you want to know the right way before it’s too late for you?

Please let me tell you how you can begin your personal relationship with God and know for sure you’ll go to heaven after you die!

Many people have a wrong impression about God. They view God as a harsh, mean judge sitting in heaven looking for someone to beat on for breaking his rules. That’s not true. He is a God of infinite goodness, mercy, kindness, grace and love. God is all about relationship!

God wants to enjoy your company.
God wants to enjoy you personally.
God wants to be with you in and through all things.
God wants to be your guiding light in life.
God wants to be involved in every area of your life.
God wants to be your whole life.

God will never desert you. He will be with you in the good times and bad. He will be your strength in times of weakness, hope in hopeless situations, an ever present help in times of trouble.

God is a God of love. God longs for you. He’s patiently been waiting for you to take his hand and have personal love relationship with him. This is the essential difference between Christianity and all other religions. All other religions are governed by a system of moral codes, rules and laws.

Christianity is different. It’s not a religion. It’s about having a love relationship with Almighty God. But he won’t ever force you to make the decision.

It’s your choice.

You may say, “I’m not good enough. You don’t know the bad things I’ve done. Even God can’t love me.” God knows all about you, the good, bad and ugly. He will accept you into his family just the way you are with no strings attached. If you only knew the amazing, unconditional love God has for you. You can’t earn it. As you grow in your relationship with God, he will reveal his love to you in so many ways.

Maybe, like so many people, you feel confused or mixed up. You know you’ve not been living the way God wants you to live. You may feel you’ve messed things up or empty inside. You wish you could start over. You’re not sure you’re going to heaven after you die. You feel something is missing in your life. You know you’re a sinner. You want your sins forgiven, a new start and the certainty of going to heaven.

I have Great News for you!

Here’s all you have to do. The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.”

What does it mean to believe?

The word ‘believe’ is much more than a mental understanding. It means to ‘rely upon , have confidence in, place your total trust in’… Jesus Christas your Master, your only hope for living life in the context of a relationship with him.

BELIEVE!

You agree with what God says about you. You are a sinner. Ask God to forgive you and he will.

The Bible says,

“If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong.” (1 John 1:9)

“I alone am the one who blots out your sins and will never think of them again.” (Isaiah 43:25)

When you choose to put your faith and trust in Christ’s death on the cross as payment for your sins and receive him into your heart as your indwelling life, your sins are forgiven. Your sin-dirty heart is washed clean!

God now sees you as if you never sinned!

You must REPENT of your sins and sinful way of living.

REPENT means change your mind about sin and see it the way God sees it. You choose from controlling your own life and living your way. You allow Christ to live his life through you.

Friend… before you make your decision you need to know something. I will be honest with you. As a Christian and follower of Jesus, you’ll be made right with God, your sins will be forgiven and you’re going to heaven after you die.

Your Christian life will be exciting and full of blessings. BUT… it may not be free of struggles or smooth and easy. Storms in life will hit us all… including you.

Jesus promises he will always be with you. His Spirit will live in you. He will be your strength in times of weakness, hope in hopeless situations, an ever present help in times of trouble. Jesus will be your help, hope, comfort and peace. You can give all your struggles and difficulties to Jesus. He is more than able to help you.

The Bible says Jesus will never desert you.

“I will never leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5)

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

It’s no accident you’re reading this right now. God is reaching out to you.

You can make the most important decision of your life and begin the most awesome, forever love relationship you’ll ever have? This isn’t about joining a church, a religion or a movement. It’s about becoming a child of God, a member of the family of God and a follower of Jesus Christ.

Are you ready to surrender control of your life to Jesus?

If so, can you genuinely pray the following prayer from your heart?

Pray right now…

God, I’m a sinner. I have been living life my way, not your way. Forgive me. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins, was buried in the grave and rose from the dead. I give control of my life over to you. I submit and surrender all I am to you. Come into my heart and take control of my life. Jesus, you are my life. I’m yours. Give me the power to follow you all the days of my life. Thank you for loving and rescuing me. Amen!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You’ve made the most important decision of your life. God has heard your prayer. You’ve just experienced the start of a whole new life by Christ coming into your heart and life.

You’ve begun your personal forever love relationship with God.

You’ve been born again spiritually into the family of God and begun your relationship with God. God is now your heavenly Father. God sees you as his precious, special, beautiful and lovable child. This also means you are going to be with him in heaven forever after you die. You’ve chosen to turn from your way of living and live God’s way as taught in The Bible.

This is just the beginning. You are a brand new Christian. There are many things God wants you to know about him and how to live the Christian life. You may not understand everything right now, but in time you will. God will help you live the Christian life.

You’re now affiliated with the Christian faith. The Bible is now your guideline for living life. The NIV, NLT, LB translations are easiest to read. Read it every day. Call someone and tell them your decision.

It’s important you join a church that clearly teaches the whole Bible. Let the pastor know you’re a new Christian. Attend a new believers’ class.

I want to help you too! I want to be your friend, help you find answers your questions and help you begin your new life in Christ.